When I met you it was clear that you hadn't eaten in quite some time...

We met at the perfect time, right at that intersection of lonely and desperate. I stared into your eyes and felt your hunger reflected back at me. You were starving for attention and craved anything I could offer. You came to the right place.

Because I am a shitty diner that's open 24 hours, seven days a week, and it was going on four in the morning when we first met. You mentioned that you hadn't eaten all day, yeah, I bet.

See you're not the first person I've met looking for a meal, and if it's late and you need somewhere to rest my comfort is a steal. Most who enter do it with an unintended sense of levity, they aren't there because they want to be, they're there because of necessity.

But there was something strange about you, something different I could tell. You came in when everything else was closed but with no hint of malice in your intention, nothing maligned in your convention. By my comprehension you weren't even another late-night patron here with apprehension, you genuinely were seeking my attention.

And so you somehow got inside me, you ordered up a plate. I made it especially for you which now you might claim was my first mistake. But it had been so long since someone cared to taste the content of my being, rather than chew it up and digest it because it's something that they need.
That plate of food was my love, and soon I was consumed by you. But what I didn't realize at first was that you bit off more than you could chew.

For quite some time you were relieved, happy, and content. You couldn't imagine this to be a location you would some day resent. See you had been busy all day and couldn't be bothered to grab a bite to eat, and people get irrational when they're hungry, and you were just glad to finally be off your feet.

But you left the meal half-finished, incomplete. You took it home with you, you took a little piece of me. And that next morning when you looked back at the unfinished meal, which in that moment was exactly what you desired, you didn't feel like having seconds because better options could be acquired.

So that piece of me sat dormant and waited, growing colder every day. You had already forgotten that it was sitting in your fridge by the time it came to throw it all away.

I'm not bitter, I just didn't think you were the type to forget that once this was exactly what you wanted. I'll remain open because that is what I do, perhaps one day we'll meet again. There's always a steady stream of business and there are no plans for renovation. I'll be here if you need me.